A free children’s dental care program for uninsured Canadian households earning less than $70,000 will cost almost a billion dollars a year, cabinet said yesterday. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said grants will be paid on the honour system subject to audit..“It is not a national dental program,” Duclos told reporters. Bill C-31 An Act Respecting Cost Of Living Measures Related To Dental Care would pay a maximum $650 tax free per year per child under 12..“While this temporary benefit is in place our government will be taking the necessary steps to build a comprehensive longer term dental care program,” said Duclos. “We are continuing to engage for that purpose with a broad range of experts.”.According to Blacklock's Reporter, a finance department Backgrounder document estimated 500,000 children would qualify. Costs were put at $938 million a year. “$650 per year, that may seem like a lot of money, but that’s not a lot of money,” said Duclos..The $650 grant per child is only for households with yearly income under $70,000. Families with combined income of $70,000 to $90,000 could claim grants reduced by increments to $260 annually..Benefits would be payable from October 1 to parents who complete a Canada Revenue Agency website questionnaire swearing an oath they “have out of pocket dental care expenses for which they will use the benefit” subject to audit..“People who are eligible will just get a cheque for the amount and then if the dental services are less than that, they won’t have to pay it back?” asked a reporter. “There are going to be measures to monitor and enforce the rules,” replied Duclos..The program was a condition of New Democrat support for cabinet in the minority Parliament under a March 22 Supply And Confidence Agreement. Cabinet promised to launch “a new dental care program for low income Canadians that would start with under 12-year olds in 2022 then expand to under 18-year olds, seniors and persons living with a disability in 2023 then full implementation by 2025.”.“The federal program is simply a program to pay people’s bills,” said New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh. “It’s going to pay the cost of dental care.”.“This is a stop-gap measure before we roll out the full program,” said Singh. “The full program is comprehensive coverage to make sure people get the care they need. That will roll out by 2023.”.Singh told reporters the $650 claim per child should exceed most families’ expenses. “We looked at the average cost for a child in terms of cleaning, procedures that are common for a child under 12 to receive, and the average we found was less than $650,” he said..Canadians with private dental insurance are disqualified from the program. About 65 percent of Canadians have private insurance, according to a 2019 Statistics Canada report Dental Care.
